Hi everyone. Something from Gil and a video from Ruth this week. FROM GIL... Chag Sukkot Sameach! TISHREY 14th, 08-10-2014 Shalom everyone! This is post is written after almost 3 weeks of not having written here (I did send a video before Rosh HaShana though…). We are now in the midst of the Jewish High Holiday season, and we are right before SUKKOT (which will take place starting from tonight, Wednesday, for the next week). We spent ROSH HASHANA here in our home in Etz Efrayim, hosting my parents and my sister and her family. It was just wonderful, and we also had Ruth with us for the first evening of the holiday. A week later came YOM KIPPUR which was a really uplifting experience, like every year. The ability to become pure before God, and to dedicate a whole day (literally) just for prayers and introspection along with fasting, was altogether very cleansing for me. And now we are about to start the holiday of SUKKOT. As Yom Kippur finished we immediately started building our Sukkah, inspired by the words in Psalms; They go from strength to strength (Psalms 84,8). Going from one fulfillment of the Word (Yom Kippur) to the next (SUKKOT) will hopefully bring us to the fulfillment of the last part of the verse in that Psalms; every one of them appears before God in Zion. It is indeed a very special time of the year. We also need to pay attention to the sequence in which the High Holidays takes place. First there is Rosh HaShana, which according to the Jewish perception is a universal day. It is the day in which the whole world accepts Gods majesty. The whole of humanity welcomes Gods sovereignty upon itself. All living creatures cry out to the Father, crown Him and pray for His Presence to take place in the world along with asking for His mercy. What a day! Then comes YOM KIPPUR, which is a day of atonement for the Jewish people, both as a people and as individuals. The whole nation stops everything. They fast, pray, and come before His Presence to ask for forgiveness. Today we can only read about the work of the high Priest in the Temple and how special that was. We weep, because we do not have the Temple today and we remind Him and ourselves of how we are still eager to bring that time in these days. Please Father! And then comes SUKKOT. We go out of the house, and for 7 days we live in there. Outside. Vulnerable. Exposed to the cold of the night. Exposed to the heat of the sun during the day. We will not able to take the challenge unless we are full of faith in him. Full of faith that He is always beside us, holding us, comforting us when it is difficult. The Sukkah is Gods tent. This is a time of coming under His own roof top. That same roof top that He gave to our fathers when they were brought out of Egypt for the purpose of serving Him from that day. To be His own! The Sukkah is like a big, 7 day long, warm hug from God! Sitting in the Sukkah is like sitting on His lap, protected from everything, being kept safe by His warmth. Under the shade of Your tent… Hineni (Here I am)! (inspired by Ruths song called Hineni - which was recorded in Hebrew here in Israel. This is probably the reason why SUKKOT is also considered to be the feast for the Gentiles. It is described as the feast during which all the nations would come to Jerusalem to see Gods Glory in all of its might. This also has to be an act of total faith, both for the Gentiles who come, and also for the Jews here to be able to accept them. When we are full enough of the Spirit of God, once we are filled with His REAL Presence, we automatically become instruments of His Peace and we are able to accept one another. We are able to love one another truly, with no agendas and no hard feelings, as He is the source of forgiveness and of the second chance! Father in Heaven, please rule over us! We do not want to be affected by anyone other than Yourself. We want to see the light, Your light. We want to bow down in humility on Your Mountain in Jerusalem. We want to praise Your Beautiful name here in Zion and elsewhere. We know that we are different from one another in our beliefs, but we will do all we can in order to live in Peace and love with one another despite these differences. You know why? Because we all love YOU! CHAG SUKKOT SAMEACH (have a happy sukkot) Gil :)
Posted on: Wed, 08 Oct 2014 12:09:04 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015